Basseterre, St. Kitts, September 05, 2016 (SKNIS): An important event that has been incorporated into the Independence 33 Celebrations is a physical activity that is slated for Saturday, September 10, as part of the commemoration of Caribbean Wellness Day 2016.

As lead Prime Minister on Health, as well as Human and Social Development within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris will be leading the charge by walking for a portion of the multizone activity. The event will start from Tabernacle and Sandy Point at the same time with both concluding in Basseterre, both points being 10 miles in distance.

Latoya Duncan, Nutrition Surveillance Officer in the Ministry of Health, said that participants can cycle, walk or jog.

“What we are basically doing is encouraging persons to do at least one mile,” she said. “So we have the different milestones on the route marked out with banners so persons can see when they have achieved their mile. Of course you want persons to do more but for persons who probably feel it might be a bit too much for them, we encourage them to do the one mile.”

The Nutrition Surveillance Officer said that it is important for everyone to participate, as it is part of a healthy lifestyle.

“Basically, it is an effort to help combat Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs), diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases,” she said. “Everybody knows that physical activity always assists and decreases your risk with these chronic illnesses.”

A Caribbean Wellness Day event is also planned for Nevis on the afternoon of Monday, September 19, Independence Day, where residents and citizens alike will engage themselves in fit and wellness games at the fitness park.

Caribbean Wellness Day is observed annually throughout the region to commemorate the Summit on Chronic Diseases held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on September 15, 2007, where CARICOM Heads of Government made the decision to develop a united approach in the fight against the epidemic of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (CNCDs).

It is expected that the region promotes the event by engaging individuals in some sort of exercise or educational activity as it relates to the fight against NCDs. This year the focus for Caribbean Wellness Day is on children with the supporting theme “Healthy Children in Healthy Environments”.